Lubricator



Jan. 10, 1933. .J; c. BURFORD LUBRICATOR Filed Sept. 15, 1930 INVENTOR cl 6'. Burford,

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 15 19333 JAMEE CLARENCE BURZFCRD, G33 WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH. CAROLINA LUBRIOATOR The invention relates to lubricators and more particularly to automatic lubricators for use in connection with vehicles especially driving boxes and trucks of locomotives.

A primary object of the invention is to so construct a device of this character that it may be used in connection with heavy and cheap lubricants and which is small and compact, occupying a minimum amount of space.

Another object is to so construct such a lubricator that it may be used for oiling various elements, the oil fed thereby being controlled by the movement of the vehicle or other machine on which the lubricator is mounted.

Another object is to so construct such a lubricator that no flexible connection is required to mount the oiler in operative position thereby producing an oiler cheap to manufacture cheap to apply and cheap to maintain and one which has no loose parts liable to wear or to get out of order.

In carrying out these objects, the invention is susceptible of a wide range of modificati on without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the claimed invention; there being shown in the drawing for illustrative purposes a preferred and practical form, in which:

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of an engine axle box with this improved invention shown applied, the axle being in cross section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the lubricator; and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

The oiler constituting this invention which may be applied to any desired part of a vehicle or engine which is subject to vertical movement during its passage over the track or roadway comprises a cylindrical casing 1 here shown rectangular in cross section although obviously it may be of any other desired configuration. This casing is designed to contain the oil to be used in lubricating and is equipped near the upper end with a filling tube 2 having a removable plug 3. This casing also has a removable top 4 Application filed September 15, 1830. Serial No. 482,052.

bolted thereto to facilitate access to its intellOI'.

F ixedly mounted'in the bottom of the casing 1 is a pump cylinder 5 which extends through the bottom of the casingan'd as over which is arranged a strainer 11 for straining the oil which is admitted therethrough and through a laterally extending opening 12 to the bore 6 f the pump cylinder. This inlet 12 is preferably flared outwardly so that there will be less resistance offered to the oil passing to the cylinder.

Mounted on the upper end of the pump cylinder within the casing 1 is a plunger guide in the form of a yoke 13 which prefcrably extends to a point near the top of the casing and in the cross bar 14: of which is slidably mounted the plunger. This plunger 15 also extends through the top 4: of the casing and into the bore 6 of the cylinder as is shown clearly in Fig. 2 and has a felt washer a where it passes through top at to exclude dirt and the like. A boss 16 is secured to the upper end of the cylinder 5 around the plunger and forms a seat for a coiled plunger return spring 17 which is wound around the plunger and bears at its upper end against a collar 18 fixed to the plunger. This collar 18 is designed to abutthe cross bar 14 of the guide 13 in the upward movement of the plunger and limit said movement.

A head 19 is mounted on the upper end of the plunger 15 and is designed to abut one arm of an L-shaped bracket 20 when the axle box B moves upward carrying with it the oiler. It will thus be seen that when this head abuts said arm of the L-shaped bracket 20 carried by the engine frame the plunger will be forced downward and discharge through the pipe coupling 7 the desired amount of oil for the part to be lubricated which may be any suitable part of the engine and through which the oil is conveyed through a pipe 25 which is screwed onto the coupling 7', (See Fig. 1).

An adjusting bolt 21 is shown threaded through thelaterally extending arm of the bracket 20 and is equipped with a lock nut for varying adjustment to control the stroke of the pump plunger.

While this lubricator is primarily intended for oiling vehicle hubs it is of course understood that it may bevused to lubricate various other elements or parts.

The normal movement of a driving box, wagon truck, or trailer of a locomotiveis about to of an inch which would require not more than that for the stroke of the plunger. But the possible stroke of the plunger has been made" sufliciently long to take care of spring breakage so that when such a thing occurs the box moves all the way up in the frame, or rather the frame comes down on thebox. and consequently does not injure the pump. An essential feature is that only a very short piece of pipe is required for connecting the lubricator with the object to be "lubricated and the Whole unit is fastened to the box or movable member which eliminates long piping from some control point on the vehicle and avoids the necessity of usingflexible connections.

It is of course understood that any desired number of pumps may be arranged within a single oil reservoir and connected with various parts of the engine or machine to be oiled,'the operation of said pumps being controlled by the vertical movement of the part on which they are mounted.

While the pump is here shown mounted on the movable axle boxing of an engine and the bracket which abuts the plunger thereof on a fixed frame obviously these locations may be reversed and the pump carried by the frame and the bracket by the movable part.

It is well known that an engine striking a curve at high speed tends to lean to the outside and it is then that the pressure is greatest on the hub faces on the outside of the curve. 'This leaning will cause the plunger 15 to be pushed down to a greater extent and to force more oil to the part which most needs it.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from valve in said discharge, a yoke-shaped.

plunger guide carried by said cylinder in said container, a plunger mounted to reciprocate in said cylinder and through the-opposed wall of the container, said plunger operating also through the cross bar of said yokeshaped guide, a coiled spring on said plunger in said guide for returning the plunger after depression, a collar on said plunger for engaging said spring to limit the return movement of the plunger, said Jump cyiindcr 7 being in. communication with the interior of the container, and a strainer arranged to strain the oil before its admission to the pump cylinder. 7

2. A lubricator of the class describedcornprisin an oil container, a pump cylinder extending through the bottom of said container and fixed thereto, said cylinder ing a iateral discharge opening outside said container, a pipe coupling detachably connected with said discharge and equipped with a check valve, a portion of the cylinder within the casing being reduced and having an inlet opening extending laterally therethrough to the bore of the cylinder, a strainer arranged around said reduced portion. a yoke-shaped plunger guide mounted on the upper end of said pump cylinder vithin said container with the cross bar adjacent the top of the container, a plunger mounted in said cylinder and extending through guide and through the top of the container, a collar fixed to the plunger within said guide, and adapted to abut the cross bar of the yoke, a coiled spring on said plunger abutting said collar, said collar being adjustable to vary he stroke of the plunger.

JAMES CLARENCE BURFORD.

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